EUGENE – Thursday’s NCAA Tournament second-round game between the Oregon Ducks and Brigham Young would appear to be a carbon copy of the run-and-gun offense that highlighted their first meeting in December.

But though each team’s similar uptempo style hasn’t deviated since, a mix of injuries, improvement and new roles have changed the matchups to the point that Ducks say December’s scouting report is nearly moot ahead of the West Regional.

“They still try to score and get up and own the floor so it’s the same philosophy really,” UO senior guard Johnathan Loyd said. “… But we’re both different teams. It’s a great matchup, great game.”

Oregon’s challenge is to project how BYU will play in its first game without guard Kyle Collinsworth, who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee on March 12 in the West Coast Conference tournament title game.

The injury cost the 10th-seeded Cougars (23-11) its leader in rebounds and assists and likely pushes new sixth man and valuable veteran guard Matt Carlino back into the starting lineup.

On paper, it’s a drastic loss for BYU. Oregon coach Dana Altman was skeptical, however, that seventh-seeded Oregon (23-9) gains much of an advantage from the injury.

“It doesn’t matter,” Altman said. “When a guy goes out for one game everybody’s excited about picking it up. Now when you start thinking about three, four, five games with one guy out … but whoever’s backing him up is really excited about the opportunity. I think for one game I think it’s way overplayed when someone’s out.

“For that one game everybody picks it up a little bit. In past experience it doesn’t make that much difference.”

The first-team all-WCC pick averaged 4.6 assists, 8.1 rebounds and 14.0 points per game as a sophomore, his first since returning from a two-year mission in Russia. At 6-foot-6, Collinsworth was among the top-10 defenders in his conference with a defensive rating of 1.1 points allowed per possession.

Against the Ducks he had 15 points and eight assists but in the final 2:21 of overtime missed a crucial layup, free throw and three-pointer with Oregon ahead by at most four points.

Despite Altman’s protestations otherwise, Collinsworth’s injury creates a rebounding void that will be important for UO’s chances at winning a second consecutive NCAA Tournament second-round game. In the month prior to his injury, Collinsworth recorded games of 11, 16 and 12 rebounds. He grabbed nearly one out of every five defensive boards when on the court, a rate higher than all but Mike Moser and Richard Amardi on UO’s roster.

That nose for rebounding explains why nearly 39 percent of Collinsworth’s shots came at the rim this season. His 70 percent shooting on putbacks means that he wasn’t just good at giving his team another opportunity but was one of its most efficient at turning them into points.

Taking advantage of Collinsworth’s loss on the glass will be up to Oregon big men Waverly Austin and Elgin Cook, who also happen to be the Ducks whose roles have changed the most since December.

“We’ve just got to focus on what we’ve got to do like defense and rebounding like we’ve been working on the whole year,” sophomore guard Damyean Dotson said. “I don’t believe it’s different at all. But different players, so it’s not the same team.”

Austin lost his starting center job eight days after playing BYU but reclaimed it in February and March by first showing he was capable playing the back line in Oregon’s full-court press. He’s progressed since, and his high point was a 10-point, five-block game against Arizona State’s 7-foot Jordan Bachynski that showcased his expanding range and confidence.

But he’s just one change in a matchup full of them, a game in Milwaukee whose keys remain the same as before. How Oregon and BYU might execute those keys, meanwhile, has changed greatly since December.